Chapter 7: The Knocking

[Rules are used to restrict the ghosts, not the players.]

[Find the rule, use the rule, and you can avoid the death trap.]

As night descended, Yan Shanque lay on her bed, opened the backpack she’d always carried, and took out a pink diary with a particularly cute appearance.

She opened to the first page. Written there in sharp, rugged handwriting were these two sentences.

“Rules, death traps, dolls, bedrooms…”

Yan Shanque composed her expression, closed her eyes, and focused her mind, recalling all the events that had happened today. She pondered carefully for a long time, and discovered…

She discovered she couldn’t figure anything out at all.

She slapped her head, which held such a meager brain capacity, going from beginner to buried on the spot.

“Forget it. There’s too little information. I’ll think about it tomorrow. If I survive, I survive. If I don’t, it won’t be my fault anyway.”

She immediately convinced herself, then began her own daily routine — writing in her diary.

In an age where “who the hell still writes in a diary” and “who still uses a pen to keep a diary,” Yan Shanque had loved recording her daily observations and interesting stories since childhood.

Even when a sudden accident dragged her into this horror game, the only thing she had brought with her was a bag containing her diary and phone.

“I’m probably the kind of cannon fodder you see in horror novels who, even after dying, leaves behind a torn diary page to provide plot clues,” she silently roasted herself.

Taking out her pen, she covered herself head-to-toe with the blanket, making sure all four corners were sealed tight, before using her phone’s light to start writing neatly.

[Real-world time, September 17th. First time entering the “Sinless Abyss.” This is a modern-day instance. Met a few teammates. They all seem fairly normal.]

[There’s a handsome guy among the teammates. Very unique personality, yet he’s in a novice instance. He’s definitely a senior player.]

[I need to figure out how to latch onto his coattails.]

[The two instance NPCs are also very good-looking. And they’re not even alive. They must be bosses.]

[…Now I’m lying alone in my room, a little scared, but very excited. Probably because the danger hasn’t arrived yet. Hope I can get through this novice instance smoothly and celebrate the festival in peace. After all, the Mid-Autumn mooncakes I ordered online haven’t arrived yet.]

“Knock knock knock—”

Suddenly, the sound of knocking rang out.

The three knocks, identical in length and rhythm, traveled remarkably far down the silent corridor.

No footsteps had been heard before this sound started, as if something had been standing right outside the door all along, only waiting for night to fully fall before knocking.

Yan Shanque’s heart leaped. She quickly turned off her phone light, shrinking under the covers without moving a muscle, pretending to be dead.

After an unknown stretch of time, just as Yan Shanque thought the “person” outside might have left, the knocking started again.

“Thump thump thump—”

This time, the sound was a bit louder.

Stop knocking, stop knocking! Even if I die, I’m dying right here in this bed!

Yan Shanque’s face was pale, her heart pounding wildly, tears nearly welling up from fright. She didn’t dare make the slightest sound.

Every horror novel plot she had ever read surfaced in her mind, further processed by her excellent associative and creative abilities into various bizarre and grotesque forms.

She kept her eyes tightly shut, not daring to poke her head out from the covers for a single glance, terrified that if she opened her eyes, she would see a ghastly white face staring fixedly at her.

Then she started worrying that the knocking was actually coming from inside the room, that the thing outside had already entered long ago, watching her final struggle with a sinister grin.

This was a fear that no horror novel or horror movie she’d ever experienced could possibly compare to. It was the innate human submission to the unknown, to an insurmountable entity.

Because she was powerless, she could only passively await the outcome.

“Thump thump thump—” This time the knocking was even heavier. The door handle wobbled slightly, as if the thing outside would push the door open and enter the very next second.

Yan Shanque’s breathing quickened. She was already picturing the image of her own corpse.

Now she could only pray in her heart that what the female housekeeper said wasn’t meant to harm them, and that the guest room door was truly as sturdy as it looked.

“It can’t get in, it can’t get in, it can’t get in…”

Perhaps her prayers worked. The next round of knocking didn’t come.

The thing outside was gone.

This time, she finally heard footsteps.

It was the sound of something heavy being dragged, scraping across the floor. Laboriously, with great difficulty, it moved away from her room door and crawled towards the next one.

It was accompanied by a “hee-hee” sound, whether the monster’s breathing or some other noise, she didn’t know.

“Thump thump thump—”

The knocking sounded from the room next door.

Yan Shanque counted the rooms. She was in the one closest to the staircase, and her neighbor was—

Lin Yujing.

Given Lin Yujing’s sharpness, he probably wouldn’t make a sound or open the door either. Just wait for the thing outside to leave, and they’d be safe.

Yan Shanque finally let out a sigh of relief.

……

Yin Luo heard it.

The sound of footsteps pacing back and forth outside his room door.

With hearing far sharper than in the real world, he could even imagine the scene outside his door.

A “person” was pacing outside his room, its gait stiff and utterly irregular. Whenever it passed in front of his door, it would stop from time to time, followed by a silence that was deeply unsettling.

This kind of passive waiting was more agonizing than facing fear head-on. It even gave one the urge to fling open the door and mutually perish with the thing outside.

“Pearl— want some milk—” The “person” produced a hoarse, rough, and completely monotonous voice, like a blade scraping against glass.

Yin Luo closed his eyes, hugging the Little Bear in his arms even tighter. His heart began to race.

“Pearl— are you asleep—”

The voice drew closer, as if pressed right against the door, or perhaps crawling on the floor, calling out while secretly peeping into the room through the gap under the door.

Yin Luo’s body trembled uncontrollably. He began to feel fear.

The fear stemmed from his own weakness, not the strangeness itself.

The little red-eyed rabbit was somewhat worried. It nuzzled against Yin Luo’s chin to comfort him.

Its ruby-like eyes, even more dazzlingly bright at night, glared fiercely at the thing outside the door, thick with murderous intent.

If it weren’t for the rules… if it weren’t for these damned rules, it would tear apart every single ugly thing that dared scare Pearl!

The plushies in the room, which had also been getting somewhat restless, the moment they sensed this aura, immediately repeated their behavior from the previous night—playing dead right where they were.

“Pearl— I’m coming in now—”

That voice had become impatient. The already locked door handle wobbled slightly, as if it would be turned open the very next second.

Yin Luo abruptly threw off his blanket, deciding he could no longer wait it out like this.

His mission was completely different from the missions of the players downstairs. It was likely that the things they encountered would be different as well. The players downstairs could stay put, but that didn’t mean he could.

Or rather, regardless of whether that thing could get in, he had to be fully prepared.

He got out of bed, his gaze shifting towards the window.

It was a floor-to-ceiling window that took up the majority of the wall, with only a small window on the side that could be pushed outward.

The distance the small window could open was limited, at most a 45° angle.

It was also fortunate that his body in this instance world was small and thin. An adult would have found it impossible to squeeze through.

Yin Luo stepped onto the carpet, walked to the window, stood on his tiptoes, and looked down.

Luckily, this was a villa, not very tall.

The second floor had a large rooftop garden, filled with greenery and even a swimming pool that glimmered faintly in the moonlight.

The balcony on the third floor even had an outdoor staircase connecting down to the second floor.

In other words, if he could just climb down to the third floor first, he would be able to contact the players, and could also use the exterior stairs to reach the second floor.

From the way those players had spoken, the difficulty of the instance world would gradually increase over time. Rather than being completely in the dark and overwhelmed later on, it would be better to explore a bit now.

Thinking of this, Yin Luo no longer hesitated. He took his sole possession—the white rabbit doll—and tied its ears into a knot around his own neck, letting it hang down over his chest.

Suddenly strung up on his body: Little Bear: OvO?

Gently bouncing it to confirm that his doll wouldn’t fall, Yin Luo then began his next course of action.

The floor height of this luxury villa was greater than that of an ordinary residential building. Without specialized training, he couldn’t just jump down.

Therefore, his gaze fell upon the bed sheets, which looked exceptionally sturdy at first glance.

……

Lin Yujing, wrapped in a bath towel, was standing by the outdoor swimming pool on the second floor, stretching lazily.

Even his ear studs, which usually glittered brilliantly under the light, had dimmed and become understated in this thick night.

He moved like a black panther, stepping silently on the floor. This world without a single light source didn’t hinder his movement in the slightest as he stepped foot by foot into the pool.

He had scoped the place out during the day. This pool was thoroughly cleaned and had its water changed every day before 6 PM. It was perfectly clean. The small bathtub in the guest room didn’t even have a massage function, bringing zero happiness.

The reason he chose the second room was simply because it was closest to this outdoor pool on the second floor.

“Nice.” The gray-haired man let out a long sigh, relaxing his muscles, cherishing the peaceful moment.

At his level, one could perhaps truly be called a “player”—gambling with life itself to play this game.

Having lived long and seen much, he could often spot the loopholes in the rules of instances at this level with a single glance.

For example, that female housekeeper earlier had repeatedly emphasized “do not open the door” and “do not linger inside the house at night outside your room.” But she had never said anything about not being outside the house.

Of course, some people might have thought of that. But not everyone had the strength and courage to bear the consequences of being wrong. They could only choose the safer path.

He, Lin Yujing, had long passed the bitter days of treading carefully and deciphering rules. He was now a mature veteran player.

For an instance world, there were only two ways to clear it: either go in head-on recklessly, or lie low until the right moment, and then go in head-on recklessly.

But clearly, a novice instance wasn’t at the level where he needed to lie low.

He had been lying there comfortably for a while with his eyes closed when his eyelashes suddenly fluttered. He abruptly raised his eyes to look at the fourth floor.

And saw the bedroom window he had been paying close attention to the whole time, slowly being opened from the inside.

Oh?

Lin Yujing grew a little interested. He completely withdrew his presence, blending into the darkness, watching with great leisure.

After a moment, a “rope,” clearly crudely tied together from two or three bedsheets, was lowered.

Then, a figure hanging from the rope carefully planted its feet on the wall and slowly began moving downwards.

In the dim light, the silhouette wriggled very slowly, even a bit shakily, like a tiny bug caught and suspended in a spiderweb.

Just as that fuzzy little bug was finally about to worm its way onto the third-floor balcony, Lin Yujing, who had been holding it in for a while, suddenly spoke up. “Yo, isn’t that the little young master Pearl? Playing the thief in your own house?”

Yin Luo, already climbing with extreme difficulty because his left hand couldn’t be used, was so startled he nearly fell straight off.

He steadied himself and looked down. Somehow, someone was lying in the swimming pool on the second-floor balcony, and at that moment was staring up at him with an eerie look.

Yin Luo: ?

What the hell?